Nicholas Romanovich Romanov, Prince of Russia[2][3] (Russian: Николай Романович Романов; 26 September 1922 – 15 September 2014) was a claimant to the headship of the House of Romanov[2][4] and President of the Romanov Family Association. Although undoubtedly a descendant of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, his claimed titles and official membership in the former Imperial House were disputed by those who maintained that his parents' marriage violated the laws of Imperial Russia.[5]

Prince Nicholas was brought up in Cap d'Antibes with his family still using the Julian calendar and he spoke both fluent Russian and French from his childhood on.[2] He was brought up in a Russian environment with his local church having a Russian priest and his family employing Russian staff and a Russian nanny.[6]

During World War II, Prince Nicholas and his family lived at the residence of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. When the King left Rome, Nicholas and his family went into hiding for nine months. During the occupation of Rome by Germany, Nicholas's grandmother, who was at great risk of deportation as a sister of the Queen, had to take shelter in the Holy See.[2] In 1942, the ruling Fascists in Italy approached Prince Nicholas to offer him the throne of Montenegro. He declined.[7][8]

Returning to Europe in 1950 Prince Nicholas worked in Rome for the Austin Motor Company until 1954. Following the death of his brother-in-law he took over the management of his wife's property and business in Tuscany. The business was a large farm which he managed for 25 years from 1955 to 1980 where he bred Chianina cattle and produced wine.[6] He sold the farm in 1982 and moved to Rougemont, Switzerland.[2] A refugee from birth, Prince Nicholas was a stateless person and used to travel abroad on a letter issued by the King of Greece. He finally became a citizen of Italy in 1988.[9] Prince Nicholas visited Russia for the first time in June 1992 when he acted as a second tour guide for a group of businessmen.[10] He often appeared in the media to talk about the Romanovs, giving over 100 television interviews,[2] and appearing in television documentaries such as the 2003 Danish documentary "En Kongelig familie" and the 2007 France 3 produced documentary called "Un nom en héritage, les Romanov".[11] In 1999, a documentary on his life was produced by the Russian television channel NTV.[12]

His father Roman Petrovich came up with the idea of a family association of the Romanovs in the mid-1970s.[9] After looking through the papers of his father, who died in 1978, Nicholas found that everything was in place for its creation. He then wrote to all the members of the Romanov family who had been in communication with his father and it was agreed that a family association should be created. A year later, in 1979, the Romanov Family Association was officially formed with Prince Dmitri Alexandrovich as president and Nicholas as vice-president. When Vasili Alexandrovich became president in 1980, Nicholas remained vice-president.[13]

The official position of the Romanov Family Association is that the rights of the family to the Russian Throne were suspended when Emperor Nicholas II abdicated for himself and for his son Tsarevich Alexei in favour of his brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich who then deferred ascending the Throne until a Constituent Assembly ratified his rule. Emperor Michael II, as he was legally pronounced by Nicholas II, did not abdicate but empowered the Provisional Government to rule. Michael's "reign" was ended with his execution in 1918.[14]

Prince Nicholas considered that following the death of Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich in 1992 that he was head of the House of Romanov and his rightful successor.[2][4][15][16] On the basis that Vladimir Cyrillovich was the last male dynast and all other Romanovs are excluded due to their parents' "unequal" marriages, Vladimir's daughter Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna also put forward a claim to the headship of the imperial house on her father's death. With the exception of Grand Duchess Maria, Prince Nicholas was recognized by the rest of the family as head of the Imperial House.[17] However, the final edition of the Almanach de Gotha published by Justus Perthes, in 1944, stated that the marriage of Nicholas's parents was "not in conformity with the laws of the house"[18] although some previous editions had listed him as a dynastic member of the Imperial House. Prince Nicholas said regarding "unequal" marriages in the Imperial Family:

Our parents married commoners. So what? We have married commoners. Again, so what? There was nobody to ask us to renounce our rights, so we married without renouncing them, and we and our children still have rights to the throne of Russia.[19]

The Prince was in the line of succession to the British throne through his ancestor Nicholas the First's wife (Charlotte of Prussia, a descendant of George the First) until his wedding to a Roman Catholic.

Princess Natalia Nikolaevna Romanova (born 1952), married to Giuseppe Consolo (born 1948). Her daughter is the Italian actress Nicoletta Romanoff.

Princess Elisaveta Nikolaevna Romanova (born 1956), married to Mauro Bonacini (born 1950);

Princess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova (born 1961), married firstly to Giambattista Alessandri (born 1958), then Giancarlo Tirotti (born 1947).

Prince Nicholas and his wife lived in Rougemont, Switzerland, for seven months every year, usually in the winter. During the rest of the year they stayed in Italy with their daughters.[6] The prince still used the Julian calendar and was fluent in French, Russian, Italian and English. He was also able to read Spanish.[2]

Prince Nicholas's death in Tuscany aged 91 was reported on 15 September 2014.[22] He was survived by his wife, their three children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.[23]

Since the Russian Revolution, members of the Romanov family have tended to drop the territorial designation “of Russia” and use a princely title with the surname Romanov. However this title, and even his right to the surname Romanov are disputed.[24]